Process for the manufacture of a textile product, etc.



- terials used for upholstery in the covering 20 Patented Jan. 6, 1931 IUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT CLIFFORD HABTONG, OF AKRON, OHIO,ASSIGNOR TO SEIBERLING RUBBER COMPANY, OF BARBEBTON, OHIO, A CORPORATIONOF DELAWARE PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF A TEXTILE PRODUCT, ETC.

No Drawing. Continuation of application Serial No. 579,289, filed August2, 1922. This application filed Kay 9, 1930. Serial No. 451,190.

This invention relates to a new and useful process for themanufactureofa textile product applicable for use as a substitute forleather as well as for other purposes where a fabric of greatwear-resisting qualities is required, of which the following is a full,clear and exact description, the present application being acontinuation of my application Serial No. 579,289, filed 'August 2,1922.

Suede-finish leather is costly and moreover is very detrimentallyaffected by water. The leather does not clean to good advantage withsoap and water nor by means of any of the so-called dry-cleaningcompounds, while continued and repeated wetting causes it to becomestiff and hard and promotes shrinking. Felt, as well as many other maofvarious articles, is also detrimentally affected by water and soap andmoreover it does not have very great resistance to conditions of wearingor tearing. Altho many leather substitutes having a fabric base are onthe market, as wellas fabrics or tapestries used for furnitureupholstery, most of these are rather easily soiled and cannot be cleanedto good advantage by means of soap and Water, and since most of thesesubstitutes are prepared by the use of various coating compositions, thecompositions being more or less brittle, crack and peel off from thefoundation fabric when subjected to a little wear.

The object of my invention is the manufacture of a material which issuperior to suede leather, felt or tapestry or cloth for' upholsteringuse in automobiles, railway and street cars, for covering furniture orother articles where the material is subjected to continued and hardservice requirements, and a material which can be used as a substitutefor leather or like materials in the manufacture of coats, shoe uppers,slippers, gloves, travelling bags, sporting goods, and in fact for anypurpose where a fabric or leather material subjected to hard serviceconditions must have great resistance to wear and must be able to becleansed without detrimentally affecting the material.

base or foundation fabric in order to obtain a product which posesses ahigh tensile strength and resistance to tearing, andcoating this wovenfabric with a plastic material, such as rubber or nitrocellulosecompound containing a little oil. The coating compounds used containfrom 5 to 60% or more of their Weight of a filler composed of fiberswhich may be dyed if desired, as hereinafter set forth. It is importantthat the fibers used in the preparation of the coating compound shouldbe long enough so that a satisfactory nap shall be produced on myfinished material without loading the coating compound too heavily withfibers. This I accomplish by using fibers approximating from one to twotenths inches in length and although I may use fibers of shorter orlonger lengths than those indicated, I have found it desirable to avoidthe use of very short fibers. In general, the shorter the fiber, thegreater the quantity of them I must use in order to produce a producthaving the qualities desired. The fibers are incorporated into thecoating compound in such a manner as to protrude to a certain extentfrom the surface of the compound applied, thereby pro ducing the effectof a heavy continuous nap over the entire surface of the finishedmaterial. In order to raise the fibers still more int-o the form of asurface nap, the surface of the material may be buffed or ruptured inany other manner in order to free one end of the incorporated fibers.When wool, animal hair or other relatively stiff fibers are used in thecompositions applied to the foundation fabric, bufiing is not absolutelynecessary but with cotton or other soft, flexible fibers, the buflingoperation isessential if a napp'ed surface is desired. If rubber is usedas the binding ingredient iinthe coating com- 7 r a rubber composition.

product. Ordinary cotton or other fabric or.

sheeting of any desired texture but preferably weighing about fourounces to the square yard, is surfaced on one or both sides with acompound containing rubber, nitrocellulose mixed with oil, or with anyother like plastic material as the principal binding ingredient andwhich contains not less than 5% its weight of fibers. The fibers whichare usedare preferably cotton, although silk, wool, linen, jute, sisal,artificial silk, asbestos fibers, animal hair, leather trimmings or anyanimal, vegetable or mineral fiber may be used in place of cotton.

These fibers may be dyed any color not affected by the later steps inthe process, while, if desired, the foundation fabric or the coatingcomposition used, may be dyed. In case rubber be used as the bindingcomposition, the dye used is preferably of the class known assulphurdyes which can Withstand the temperature of vulcanization withoutsuffering any detrimental change in color. The fibers are introducedinto the rubber com pound by means of an ordinary rubber refiner ordifferential speed mixing mill. The method of making this compound is bythe usual process followed in the manufacture of The rubber, preferablyof the grade known as first latex rubber,

or any other similar high quality rubber together with any other rubberor rubber composition, such as refined uncured tire friction trimmings,is first broken down or plasticized on the rubber mills and the fibersand other compounding and vulcanizing ingredients added in order toimpart suflicient strength and ageing properties to the rubber composition. For this purpose, I add the necessary proportion of sulphur(about 3% of the weight of the rubber used), zinc oxide or other filler,a small amount of some softener such as cottonseed oil and paraflin, acolor ingredient such as ultramarine blue,if desired, and preferably anaccelerator of vulcanization. The entire product is then mixed into anhomogeneous compound. In case the fibers are to be dyed beforeincorporation into the composition, a portion of the refined uncuredtire friction is replaced by an equiva- P lent weight of colored fibersand the ultramarine blue or other colored compounding ingredient may bereplaced by a colorless filler or by one having the desired color, Asolid color effect is produced by dyeing the fibers the same color asthe rubber composition used or a variegated or mottled effect may beproduced in the finished product by coloring the fibers a differentshade than the rubber or the composition used.

In case the ingredients mentioned above are used in the preparation ofthe rubber composition, they are preferably used in the proportionsindicated below, although it will e understood that I do not limit thescope of my invention to the exact quantities or solely to theingredients as given. The quantities are: 34 parts first latex rubber,44 parts refined, uncured tire friction trimmings, 18 parts zinc oxide,1 part sulphur, 5 parts Ultramarine blue, part accelerator (preferablyethylidene aniline, although any other accelerator of similar propertiesmay be used), A part cottonseed oil and part paraffin. Substitutions ofother ingredients for those given or the use of other'materials arepossible'and are readily apparent tothose skilled in the art of rubbercompounding. In the example as set forth, the tire friction trimmingscontain about 50% rubber' compound and about 50% cotton fibers having amean average length'of approximately twotenths inches. The use ofshorter fibers will require a modification in the formula as given. Thepercentage of fibers em loyed in the manner and proportions ,asdescribed is equivalent to a maximum quantity -of approximately 125% byweight of the rubber taken in manufacturing the composition.

The coating composition employed and calendered on the fabric base ashereinafter described can be manufactured by other processes as is shownby the following example wherein the composition is prepared by atwo-stage mixing process. About 12 ounds of a high grade plantationrubber is roken down in the usual manner on an ordinary rubber mixingmill to a semi-plastic condition. It is then transferred from the slowroll of the mill to a faster revolving. roll, and 25 pounds of fibers,having an average length of from to' inches, are added to the rubber.When the fibers have been mixed with the rubber, approximately pound ofan oil, preferably a vegetable oil, such as palm oil, is added to themix, and the batch is allowed to mix on the fast revolving roll untilthe fiber is all uniformly dispersed. The mixed fiber stock is thentransferred to a refiner having the differential speed rolls thereof settight, and the mixture is passed between the rolls until it is evenlyrefined.

A second composition comprising 7.5 arts of rubber, 0.56 parts ofsulphur, 0.18 parts of ethylidene aniline, 1.30 parts of zinc oxide, 4parts of lithopone, 0.5 parts of ultramarine blue, and 0.125 parts ofparafiine is then mixedin the usual manner.

Approximately 38 pounds of the first rubber composition, (containingfibers) and 14.9 pounds of the second rubber composition, are blendedhomogeneously together by first placing the second mixture on a mill andsoftening it until it is sufliciently plastic to cling to the slowmoving roll. The fiberconta-ining composition in a hot plastic conthesheetin or foundation fabric by means used for'this purpose.

of any of t e ordinary pieces of machinery The coating maybe of anydesired thickness but in practice I have found that a layer of about1/128 inches inthickness yields a product having the desired qualities.The coated sheet of fabric is then rolled upon a drum with a plyofpaper, holland .or any smooth sheet of any kind of material toseparate the respective layers and using sufficient pressure to obtain agood union between the fibers and the foundation fabric and which willproduce a smooth surface on the'vulcanized article so that in thebufiing operation the nap can be raised evenly over the entire surfacewithout destroying a large percentage of the fibrousmaterial. After thesheeting compound is wound about the drum, it is covered with an apronto prevent steam from discoloring the fabric during the vulcanizing'process. The vulcanization is carried out in the usual mann! at 40pounds pressure of steam in an open steam heater for a eriod of time andat a temperature depen ing on the rubber compound used. In the examplegiven, about one hour and forty minutes heating at 40pounds of steam inan open'steam heater is needed for a drum carrying about 100 yards oftreated fabric. Although I have indicated the open steam heater as thepreferred method of vulcanizing my material, other methods well known inthe art may also be used'for vulcanization, such for example as theso-called cold-cure process using sulphur chloride or the Peacheyprocess in which."

face color which adds greatly to the pleasing appearance and saleabilityof the product, especially when the fibers are colored the same as thebase stock. If the fibers were not dyed before incorporation into theplastic com ound, or if a richer color is desired, the com ination sheetmay be dyed with any dyes available which are suitable for the type ofsheeting and fibers used.

In case a non-fibrous undercoating is desired to be placed between thefoundation fabric and the fibrous coating, the same rubber compositionmay be used with the exception that no fibers are included in itscomposition. This compound is calendered on the foundation fabric in theusual manner and a second coating which contains fibers in itscomposition is then calendered on. The advantage in using anundercoating containing no fibers or a smaller proportion of fibers thanis used, in the coating composition as shown, is that it makes itpossibleto obtain a product of more pliability, increases thewaterproof'qualities, lessens abrasion in the buffing operation andmakes it possible to obtain special characteristics or properties whichmight otherwise require a greater proportion of fibers than I indicatedin the formula in the example given. I

It is also possible to. improve the surface material of my product, aswell as to produce a finished product having a more copious and strongernap by applying more free fibers to the freshly coated fibrous stock asit comes from the calender. It 'is desirable to do this in cafe aheavier nap is desired on the finished product and in some cases is morepracticable than to use a coating composition too heavily loaded with.fibers. If free fibers are added, it is referred to use a shorter fiberthan is used in the rubber composition. These free fibers may be morefirmly fixed on the surface of the material by rerunning the finishedsurfaced material through the calender again. In making my product withnitrocellulorre instead of with rubber, the fibers are dyed andincorporated into the nitrocellulose and oil'eement in a rubber cementmixer of the well-known type or in a mixer containing prongs similar. tothe mixer usedfor manu facturing asbestos packing. The fibrous cement ordough is then'applied to the foundation fabric by means'of a rubberspreading machine or an asbestos packing calender. A

solvent of nitrocelluloseis, of courre, needed in the preparation of thenitrocellulose-oil eement and, a large proportion of this solvent willevaporate and be removed from the mass rubberand are then ready forspreading in the \isual manner on the foundation 'fabric. Rubber latexmay also be used in place of the rubber solution mentioned.

While I have described in considerable detail a preferred method ofobtaining the advantages of my invention, it will be understood thatsuch description is only for the purpose of rendering more clear thenature of the invention and the principles governing the method ofemploying the same and that my invention is not to be regarded aslimited to the details of procedure or the proportions above mentioned,except in so far as suchlimitations are included within the terms of theaccompanying claims, in which it is my intention to claim all noveltyinherent in my invention as broadly as is permissible in View of theprior art.

I claim:

1. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingmixing a base stock, coloring the same, separately coloring a filler,then thoroughly mixing the filler with the base stock.

2. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingmixing a base stock, coloring the same to the desired shade, separatelycoloring a filler to match the color of the base stock, then thoroughlymixing the filler with the base stock.

3. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingmixing a base stock until it is reduced to a plastic mass, thoroughlymixing therewith a colored pigment. separately coloring a filler, thenthoroughly mixing the filler with the base stock.

4. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material, comprisingmixing a base stock until it is reduced to a plastic mass, thoroughlymixing therewith a coloring pigment, coloring a filler to match thecolor of the base stock, then thoroughly mixing the filler with a basestock.

5. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material, comprisingmixing a base compound until it is reduced to a plastic mass, mixing acoloring material therewith, coloring a filler with a difierent coloringmaterial, thenthoroughlv mixing the colored filler'with the base stock.

6. That method of manufacturinga colored composite material comprisinmixing a base stock until 1t is reduced to a p astlc mass,

thoroughly mixing a coloring matterthere-' 7. Thatmethod ofmanufacturing a colored composite material comprising, mixing a basestock, coloring the same, separately coloring a fibrous material, 'thenthoroughly mixing the fibrous material with a base stock.

8. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprising,taking a quantity of rubber, reducing it to a plastic mass, coloring thesame to the desired shade, separately coloring fibrous material to matchthe color of the base stock, then thoroughly mixing the fibrous materialwith the rubber.

9. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingtaking a quantity of rubber, milling the same until it is reduced to aplastic mass, thoroughly milling a colored pigment into the mass,separately coloring a filler, then thoroughly milling the filler intothe base stock.

10. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material,comprising mixing a rubber base stock until it is reduced to a plasticmass, thoroughly mixing therewith a colorin pigment, dyeing a filler tomatch the color 0 the base stock, then thoroughly mixing the filler witha base stock.

11. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material,comprising mixing a rubber compound until it is reduced to a plasticmass, mixing a coloring material therewith, dyeing fibers, thenthoroughly mixing the dyed fiber with the rubber base stock.

12. That method of manufacturing a colored composite materialcomprising, taking a quantity of rubber, milling it until it is reducedto a plastic mass, thoroughly mixing a coloring matter therewith, dyeingfibrous material to the exact shade of the colored matter, thenthoroughly milling the colored fibrous material into the plastic mass,forming the mass into an article of the desired shape and submitttingthe same to vulcanization.

13. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingmixing a rubber compound until it is reduced to a plastic mass, coloringa filler, then thoroughly mixin the filler with the plastic mass,forming t ie resultant mass into articles of the desired shape andsubmitting the same to vulcanization.

14. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingmixing a base stock, coloring the same, separately coloring a filler,then mixing the colored filler with the colored base stock, forming theresultant mixture into articles of the desired shape, submitting thesame to vulcanization then removing the surface of the article thusformed.

15. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingmixing a base stock, coloring the same to the desired shade, separatelycoloring a filler to match the color of the base stock, thoroughlymixing the filler with the base stock, forming the resultant mixtureinto articles of the desired shade,

curing the article; then abrading the surface of the article to exposethe filler.

16. That method of manufacturing a colored composite material comprisingmixing a base stock, coloring the same to the desired shade,"separatelycoloring a filler to match the color of the base stock, thoroughlymixing the filler with the base stock, forming the mixture into anarticle of the desired shape, submitting the article to vulcanization,then removing the surface of the article thus formed.

17 ."That method of manufacturing a colored composite material,comprising mixing a rubber compound until 'it is reduced to a plasticmass, mixing a coloring material therewith, dyeing fibers, thenthoroughly mixing the dyed fiber with the rubber base stock; forming theresultant mixture into-the desired form, submitting the same tovulcanization, then removing the surface of the article to expose aportion of the fiber embedded therein. r

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of April,1930. ROBERT CLIFFORD HARTONG.

